Welcome to another month of excellent releases! When will I stop saying that? Probably never. This month was a great example of the realization that I had...about five years ago that it's not that the age is golden - my network just rules. From all corners of the earth (literally) it comes, sending a deluge of great music my way. And then I distil that deluge into a torrential downpour, with the help of my best friends, The Heavy Blog Editors, and shower you with it. OK, the metaphor got kind of icky there but you get the picture - here is September's best of the best and boy was there a lot of "best".
-Eden Kupermintz
Amiensus – Reclamation Pt. II (progressive meloblack)
Let’s be honest with each other - there is no good definition for what US Black Metal really is. Like many other labels on the Northern part of the American continent, USBM is an umbrella term which hides multiplicity beneath it, doing more to obscure than to elucidate. Which is not to say that the label is completely useless but rather that we should be careful when deploying it. Mostly this is because USBM has been changing, like all genres, over the last few years. The more atmospheric kind of black metal that defined its first decade or two of existence has been fading from view a bit and, in its place, a more melodic and progressive form has been emerging. This type of USBM tends to still be grandiose but less concerned with ambience and more with forceful and flamboyant exploration of the melding of black metal’s harshness with more lush and chromatic composition.
Example? Look no further than Amiensus, which we have covered extensively on the blog. Through their collaborations with another excellent USBM band, Oak Pantheon, I learned about their music a few years ago. Since then, I have watched them go from strength to strength: 2020’s Abreaction was one of my favorite releases of that cursed year. Then, they released Reclamation earlier this year and I was already very happy. The release showcased a tighter, more focused sound from the band, even more melodic and well composed. But I didn’t know back then that the band were planning to release a Part II and I definitely didn’t know that it would be even better than the first. Reclamation Part II is one of the best distillations of what makes USBM tick these days, a near-perfect iteration on the progressive, melodic, and epic sound that has come to define the genre these days.
At the core of what makes this album such a good iteration of USBM is the balance it strikes between the aforementioned atmospheric elements that still reside in USBM and the more forceful, explosive, melodic sound. You can hear it as the excellent first track, “Sólfarið”, transitions into the more abrasive “Acquiescence”. Backed by breakneck drums and punishing harsh vocals, the second track delays those elements to first introduce itself with a hauntingly beautiful and fragile atmospheric passage, marked with emotive clean vocals. This makes the expansive solos and riffs of the track proper hit that much harder and also does great work to connect the first two tracks. This approach is taken throughout the album, stringing together the majestic melodic elements with crystal clear and well written quieter passages.
Their compositions, crucially, do not fall from the standard of the heavier passages; everything on this album, both soft and powerful, has been crafted to the same degree of excellence. In other places, these quieter passages are even more extensive, with strings, choirs, and their own compositional growth to boot. Throw in excellent, progressive solos with a touch of Opeth on them that dot the heavier tracks, a brilliant vocal guest spot from Lars Nedland (Solefald, Borknagar) and more melodic, sweeping riffs than your heart will know what to do with and you have yourself one of the best USBM albums that I can remember.
-EK
Teeth - The Will Of Hate (dissonant / technical death metal)
There’s no shortage of bands with the name Teeth, but around these parts, there’s two in particular that have lead to some confusion on more than one occasion, and that’s between Ontario’s metalcore unit signed to Nuclear Blast vs Los Angeles’ death metal outfit signed to Translation Loss. It wouldn’t be fair to say that Los Angeles’ Teeth is our favorite in particular as a collective (both are good!), but I will say that once I found out that the Teeth record that was coming out this month was from Cali’s dissodeath acolytes, my tune changed from anticipation to excitement.
This particular set of Teeth, fronted by guitarist and vocalist Erol Ulug, did drop EP Finite back in 2021, but their last full-length and opus The Curse of Entropy dropped way back in 2019, and it was among one of the best records of that year, death metal or otherwise. It’s been a long wait, but it pays off as The Will of Hate strips Teeth’s post-Gorguts death metal sound into bare bones depravity. The Curse of Entropy was relatively flashy, but as this album’s dark and Giger-esque artwork would suggest, The Will of Hate is dark, creeping, and delves into sludgier territory.
The tracklist alone, with titles like “Blight,” “Seethe,” “Writhe,” and “Churn,” do a better job than I ever could of conveying the atmosphere of this record. One could even argue atmospheric sludge or death doom has crept its way into the Teeth playbook, and it’s a suitable aesthetic for the group as they continue to explore and define their sound in the increasingly crowded dissonant and atmospheric death metal sphere. Through the lurching yet technical melange of extreme textures on display, Teeth remain one of the most promising up-and-coming death metal acts of the moment.
-Jimmy Rowe
Mamaleek - Vida Blue (blackish post-jazz??)
There’s a strong case to be made that the genre tag for Mamaleek should just be a series of question marks. Defining the Bay Area metal experimentalists and self-described “weirdos” has been a challenge for nearly a decade, peaking approximately every two years as new albums surfaced in 2018, 2020, 2022, and now, 2024. Their music – a distinct blend of blackgaze/post-black metal and Middle Eastern flourishes – is simultaneously instantly recognizable and ever-evolving as new influences are embraced. From post-punk to psychedelia to blues and jazz, Mamaleek’s ability to absorb almost any genre into their caustic sound defies convention and genre tags.
With Vida Blue, the anonymous duo has transformed once again. The dark jazz and lounge influences that emerged on their 2020 album, Come and See, take center stage on their eighth studio album. Grounded in the band’s grief following the loss of keyboardist Eric Livingston and inspired by the story of Oakland A’s legend Vida Blue as the formerly beloved baseball team departs the Bay Area, Vida Blue explores loss, grief, and acceptance on personal, social, and societal levels. Discordance and melody exist side-by-side, cutting against each other in an uneasy coexistence. Echoing the messy range of feelings that must be processed in grief, Mamaleek’s signature devastation of genre delivers an emotional gut-punch.
Languid lounge bleeds into caustic howls, which are punctured by reverb-heavy riffs in turn. Smooth jazz is transformed to uneven discomfort with black metal howls and a haunting, dissonant atmosphere that manages to contain a hint of the ethereal. “Ancient Souls, No Longer Sorrowful” summons the familiar sounds of Middle Eastern melodies overlaid with somewhat discernable growls distended into somber howls. A subtly thumping beat emerges to mimic a funeral march, juxtaposed against slinky electronics. The sound is both completely novel and completely Mamaleek. Bruised but not broken, the black metal experimentalists invite us on a journey of sorrow and joy that once again defies definition.
-Bridget Hughes
Nile - The Underworld Awaits Us All (technical/brutal death metal)
The older I get, the clearer it becomes that aging with grace is far from a given. If the elderly folks in my general vicinity are any indication, I’d say it’s much more of an anomaly than most of us like to think. I’m in my mid-30s and my knees are starting to crack when I stand. My beard is speckled with gray hair, seeming to accumulate in area and prominence by the day. I groan when I get off the couch. My exercise routine gets harder and harder to maintain with the same level of energy and verve as time passes. No matter our bodily maintenance and dietary rigor, the grave lurches toward us like an intractable current, creeping ever closer despite our valiant attempts to prolong its inevitability.
There are exceptions to the above, naturally. Like my 90 year old grandmother who still gardens and rides two miles on her stationary bike every day despite crippling arthritis. She’s an emblem of death defiance, and every new day we get with her is a gift. In that same vein from a musical context, death metal elder statesmen Nile have spat in the face of pure legacy act irrelevance decades into their storied career by continuing to churn out death metal of a shocking level of musicianship and songwriting quality. Along with genre immortals like Immolation, Incantation, Dying Fetus, and Cannibal Corpse, it’s pretty difficult to point to a period where they might have “fallen off” for any significant period of time. Nile is one of those bands that has a significant cult following for almost all of their records, with there being little consensus opinion as to which of their records is their seminal achievement. Their 10th full-length juggernaut of a record The Underworld Awaits Us All marks a late career high point for the band, and for at least one more album cycle the eternal grip of the underworld will have to wait. Nile’s intense brand of technical and brutal death metal has seldom sounded this fully and deeply alive.
One of the most notable aspects of The Underworld Awaits Us All is what it is able to accomplish with new parts. The departure of Dallas Toler-Wade in 2019 certainly brought the future quality of the band’s work into question, but leave it to Karl Sanders and George Kollias to keep a death metal institution from sinking into the mire of old school obscurity. It is absolutely shocking how vicious Underworld is given the age of its principal performers. Sanders and co.’s songwriting is as sharp and interesting as it’s ever been, but it’s the performances here that truly take the spotlight. Every riff feels like a legitimate palm to the throat, choking the life out of the listener with a blistering assault of guitar- and percussion-based pyrotechnics that would be enviable in bands with half the resume of Nile. It’s even more impressive when the fact that Sanders is in his 60s rears its beastly head. For all the above talk of decay and decline, Karl Sanders stands as a sterling example of continued accomplishment in a musician’s golden years. Just check out the utterly absurd “Chapter for Not Being Hung Upside Down on a Stake in the Underworld Made to Eat Feces by the Four Apes” for more than enough evidence of the band’s continued vitality as performers. Exceptional stuff.
On the songwriting front, Underworld continues Nile’s post-Dallas era sound. While that aesthetic has proved divisive among Nile’s devoted fanbase, it’s hard not to view Underworld as an aggressive and coherent progression from the structures of Vile Nilotic Rites. While that record focused more heavily on groove, Underworld takes an altogether more violent and battering approach, spraying solos and unbelievably brutal, punchy riffs straight to the dome with a vigor and conviction akin to the band’s most intense earlier work. While Underworld certainly isn’t a songwriting revolution for the band, under no circumstances does it need to be. Nile’s sound repertoire has always been a bit wider than many of their contemporaries, so there’s more than enough variety here to justify this record’s existence. But it’s also a pitch perfect distillation of everything that makes Nile incredible, performed and written as well as it ever has been.
While the slow march of death continues apace for us all, Nile’s latest record is further proof that there’s distinct value in not going quietly into that night. Welcoming the ever after with brutal snarls and an unparalleled instrumental attack, The Underworld Awaits Us All is a clarion call for a longstanding and classic genre band offering no surrender to the steady erosion of time. This is Nile at their sharpest, most brutal, and most fundamentally alive in at least a decade. Aging with grace is a gift, and the death metal faithful accepts Nile’s latest offering with gladness. Superb shit.
-Jonathan Adams
Further Listening
Bent Knee – Twenty Pills Without Water (prog rock/pop)
Bent Knee are back and if you were worried about Ben and Jessica’s departure, set your heart at ease. Twenty Pills Without Water returns to the Say So and Shiny Eyed Babies sound and does it expertly well. Heads up, everybody sucks!
-EK
Fontaines D.C. - Romance
The world’s best post-punk band branches out into more lush, romantic territory in their aptly titled third full-length record Romance. Those enamored by the high strangeness of Skinty Fia may find the change in style and theme jarring, but this is a record that only improves with each new spin. Only time will tell if it ends up being the band’s best, but a bold step forward it certainly is.
-JA
JPEGMAFIA - I Lay Down My Life For You (experimental hiphop)
Coming off last year’s acclaimed SCARING THE HOES collab with Danny Brown, rapper/producer JPEGMAFIA is back with a solo outing that continues a tradition of instant underground classics. I Lay Down My Life For You notably carries a load of metal influences, with sampled guitars and snarls left, right, and center, but fans of jazz rap will find the raucous “JPEGULTRA!” a delight as Peggy trades off with Denzel Curry. Any fan of underground and experimental hip-hop needs to spin this expeditiously.
-JR
Leprous – Melodies of Atonement (prog metal)
The best Leprous album since Coal. Stripped away from self-obsession, returning the introspective lyrics I love from them, and musically tight and expressive. Welcome back Leprous.
-EK
Meer – Wheels Within Wheels (prog rock)
Somehow grander than even their previous release, Meer is in rare form on this new release. More progressive and less art, Wheels Within Wheels takes Meer’s form and blows it up for immense emotional impact.
-EK
Missouri Executive Order 44 - Salt Sermon (mathcore, noise rock)
You see a band name like Missouri Executive Order 44 with a track list of song titles like “Wear Me Like A Mitt, Romney” and “They Built A Bass Pro Shop In Our Zion” and quickly guesstimate that the average track length is about a minute and twenty seconds, and even then, you find out that half those songs are padded by samples of apocalyptic preaching. This is the false grind x math x noise rock blend you’re hankering for, for fans of Chat Pile, KEN Mode, and Daughters. Vicious stuff.
-JR
Thotcrime - Connection Anxiety (hypercore)
I can’t tell if Connection Anxiety makes me feel jubilant or well, anxious. But I’m not sure I’m supposed to decide: Thotcrime’s glitchy onslaught of cybergrind, pop punk, and metalcore is a tornado of sound that reaches defiant highs and furious lows at 300 miles per hour. Listen to rage, listen to dance, listen to scream out whatever tf you’re feeling.
-BH
Delving - All Paths Diverge (psychedelic prog post-rock)
From the guitar/vocal genius behind Elder, comes Nicholas Disalvo’s second entry into his solo-side-project Delving. Think an instrumental Elder with a bit less heavy fuzz, more post-rock structured song-writing, some retro krautrock influence, and a whole lot of psychedelic kaleidoscoping colourfulness to lose yourself in. Strong keyboard tones add warmth to this ever-flowing, immersive listening experience that any prog/post/psych enjoyer should give their time to.
-Trent Bos
Within the Ruins - Phenomena II (djent, progressive deathcore)
Within the Ruins are one of few bands left who can pull off this hyper-processed modern guitar-tone sound and I’m content that they’ve continued to embrace it. They bring the bouncy aggressive energy it requires to not sound overtly clinical, and some legitimately fun riffs and technicality - hey modern metalcore and deathcore, remember riffs? Phenomena II is of course the sequel to their superhero-themed concept album, and easily their best since that album. A few tracks here are sure to make some gym playlists.
-TB
ANCIIENTS – BEYOND THE REACH OF THE SUN (STONER PROG/DOOM)
ANNA PEST – YOU AND ME AT THE END OF THE FUCKING WORLD (NUISH DEATHCORE)
CONCRETE WINDS – CONCRETE WINDS (INDUSTRIALISH DEATHGRIND)
ELLENDE – TODBRINGERIN’ (PROGRESSIVE/POST-BLACK METAL)
PHENOCRYST – CREMATION PYRE (BLACKENED DEATH METAL)
GENERATION OF VIPERS – GUILT SHRINE (ALT/DEATH-SLUDGE)
YAGRUM BAGARN – IN THE CORPRUSARIUM (WEIRD/PROGGY/BLACKISH DEATH METAL)
TROJKA – STROBERMORKE (PROG ROCK)
VILE RITES – SENESCENCE (DOOMY PROG-DEATH)
OXYGEN DESTROYER – GUARDIAN OF THE UNIVERSE (CRUSTY/BLACKENED DEATH-THRASH)
AND SO I WATCH YOU FROM AFAR – MEGAFAUNA (POST/MATCH ROCK)
FUCKED UP – ANOTHER DAY (PROGRESSIVE/ART PUNK)
THE MANTLE – VIOLENT COSMIC FORTUNE (PROGRESSIVE/TECHNICAL DEATH METAL)